Eastern Saxony
This museum will fascinate anyone with a taste for the odd with its curiously broad exhibits. Wealthy merchant Johann Christian Ameiss translated his…
Must-see attractions in Saxony
Dresden
Not an institution dedicated to the history of cleaning products, the German Hygiene Museum is, in fact, all about human beings. The permanent exhibit…
Dresden
Like its siblings in Leipzig and elsewhere in Germany, this old gasometer – a huge round-shaped building – has been transformed into a venue for German…
Eastern Saxony
The Sorb national museum has collections and displays on every aspect of the history and culture of this ethnic minority. The exhibit kicks off with a…
Leipzig
Half a million soldiers fought – and one in five died – in the epic 1813 battle that led to the decisive victory of Prussian, Austrian and Russian forces…
Dresden
The Katholische Hofkirche (also called Dresden Cathedral) makes up an integral part of the baroque ensemble crowning the Altstadt, and is one of Dresden's…
Leipzig
Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor in the Thomaskirche from 1723 until his death in 1750, and his remains lie buried beneath a bronze plate in front…
Museum Kirche zum Heiligen Kreuz
Eastern Saxony
This former church holds Zittau's most famous attraction, the 1472 Grosses Zittauer Fastentuch (Large Zittau Lenten Veil). The house-sized painted linen…
Leipzig
Leipzig's beautiful Renaissance town hall is an atmospheric setting to recount the twists and turns of the city's history from its roots as a key medieval…
Leipzig & Western Saxony
Beautifully renovated, this former 1913 department store now houses the city library as well as the Neue Sächsische Galerie, which presents contemporary…
Dresden
Housed in two gorgeously converted curving galleries, this extraordinary collection ranges from 17th- and 18th-century Chinese porcelain to that produced…
Dresden
If you are interested in urbanism and the redevelopment of industrial facilities, check out this giant 19th-century red-brick powerplant reborn as a…
Leipzig & Western Saxony
Things have rather turned against the founder of Communism since this 7m-high bronze head (one that catches the German philosopher on a very bad hair day)…
Leipzig
The standout attraction at Leipzig Zoo, one of Germany's most progressive, is Gondwanaland, a jungly wonderland of 17,000 plants and 300 exotic animals…
Dresden
The Guinness-certified ‘world’s most beautiful dairy shop’, founded in 1880, is a riot of hand-painted tiles and enamelled sculpture, all handmade by…
Eastern Saxony
Görlitz' town hall takes up the entire western side of the Untermarkt, but the oldest and most noteworthy section is the tower building with the curving…
Leipzig
Leipzig's first 'skyscraper', the 11-storey Kroch-Haus is topped by a clock and two muscular bronze sentries, who bash the bell at regular intervals; the…
Saxony
The handsome Markt is flanked by colourfully painted historic townhouses along with the Rathaus (1472) and the Gothic Frauenkirche.
Eastern Saxony
This once-drab cluster of GDR-era buildings has been transformed into a colourful and fanciful living quarter dreamed up by Berlin artist Sergej Alexander…
Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon
Dresden
This wonderful collection of scientific implements, dating from the early 16th century onwards, will delight anyone interested in the history of science…
Leipzig
This interactive museum does more than tell you about the life and accomplishments of Johann Sebastian Bach. Learn how to date a Bach manuscript, listen…
Leipzig
Leipzig's Museum für Angewandte Kunst is the second-oldest applied arts museum in Germany and has one of the finest collections of art-nouveau and art…
Kulturhistorisches Museum Franziskanerkloster
Eastern Saxony
The star exhibit at this museum is the 1573 Kleines Zittauer Fastentuch (Small Zittau Lenten Veil), which depicts the crucifixion scene framed by 40…
Dresden
The Gläserne Manufaktur is Volkswagen’s stunning transparent car factory. This ambitious, impossibly stylish glass building was a huge prestige project…
Leipzig
At the fabulous Musikinstrumenten-Museum, you can discover music from five centuries in the prestigious and rarity-filled exhibits, as well as an…
Dresden
The huge mosque-like Yenidze began life in 1909 as a cigarette factory with a chimney disguised as a minaret and a stained-glass dome. Today, it's home to…
Saxon Switzerland
This old lift, which dates from 1905, whisks you up a 50m-high tower for views and access to a footbridge linking to a pretty forest path that runs into…
Eastern Saxony
If you want to learn more about the Moravian Brethren and its illustrious founder, Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf, head to Herrnhut's local history museum,…
Eastern Saxony
Dominating the Obermarkt, this 15th-century former Franciscan monastery church is packed with medieval masterpieces, most notably the baroque high altar…
Saxony
The Gothic Frauenkirche's carillon, the world’s oldest made from porcelain, chimes a different ditty six times daily. Climb the tower for fine red-roof…
Leipzig & Western Saxony
This 12th-century Benedictine monastery has been recast into a weighty Gothic hall church and houses Hans Witten’s intriguing sculpture Christ at the…
Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst
Leipzig
Contemporary art in all media is the speciality of this gallery, presented in temporary exhibits in a minimalist container-like space and a late-19th…
Dresden
The main attraction in Grosser Garten (Great Garden) is this excellent zoo, where crowds gravitate toward the Africa Hall and the lion enclosure.
Leipzig & Western Saxony
This late-Gothic monastery houses the city history museum, whose vaulted interior is a rich backdrop for Saxon 15th- and 16th-century sculpture.
Leipzig
Massive Augustusplatz may look nondescript at best, and foreboding at worst, but it is actually flanked by some of Leipzig's most famous buildings,…
Leipzig
Looking like an airport terminal devouring a Gothic cathedral, Leipzig University's main building is a boldly postmodern tribute to the 13th-century…
Dresden
Designed by Zwinger architect Mätthaus Pöppelmann, the most eye-catching feature of the Dreikönigskirche is the baroque altar that was ruined in 1945 and…
Eastern Saxony
Climb the 165 steps to the top of this fortification tower that was inhabited by a sentry until 1904. En route, exhibits on the purpose of such sentries …
Leipzig
A key figure of the Romantic age, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was appointed music director of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester in 1835 and held the…
